Tufting button



Dec. 26, 1933. w B, MATHEWSON 1,941,408

Filed Aug. 30, 1932 InvenTor.

Wilfred B. Mohewson receiving passage vextending through the button be easily attached to or detached from the tu'ft- Patented Dec. 26, 1933 PAT ENTQQE l 71,941,408 TUFTiG ,U'r'roNA Y Wilfred B. Mathewson; North 'Weymouth, Mass.; v assignor to United Mattress Machinery Coml pany, Quincy, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application August ;'1932. serialV` No; 531,055

This invention relates to.ituftng buttons lsuch asv are used in tufting mattresses or in ,upholu stery Work and it has for its general object to prov-1de a novel tufting butto-n which isl simple and inexpensive to manufacture but which `can ing cord which ties kthe button tothe mattress, cushion or other article.

My improved tufting button Vhas a vconvexlycurved back face and is provided with a vcordfrom one side to the other'of said back face'and' is also. formed vvith an `enteringfslot in the convex back face `which Aleads to the cord-receiving located within-the boundaries ofthe ellipsoidal shape and Vdo not'npresent Aany ,projections or protuberances that extendbeyond-:said boundaries. The button, therefore, hasfa substantially smoothsurface, both on the back'face and the front face. .i

In inserting` the button into a loop of tufting cord said button is turned bottom side upv with the front face against the vmattress and-then the edgeof the button 'adjacent theentering-slot is to enter theV slot and When'the loop hasV reached the inner end of the slot Where it communicates with the .cord passagexthe button is reversed in position to` bring .the backside against the mattress and the front Yside. exposed.A 'During this reversing operation the loop of tufting cord drops into the cord passage and the button is locked in .,position@ y f In order to give anunderstanding ofthe invention I have illustrated in the drawing a selected embodiment thereof which Will now be described after which the novel features Willl be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a View of a tufting button embody` `ing my invention Vshowing it attached to the tufting cord;

Fig. 2 is a section andthe une 2-`2-, Fig.1,gsaid section alsosho-Wing the button Vin `section onA the line 2 2, Fig. Y3;

Fig. 3 is a backside View of the button;

Ycrowded into said loop. This Will'cause the loop Fig. 4 is asection on the line 4&4, Fig. 3 Y Figs. 5, 6 andy'lshowdiffere tsteps in the operation of attaching the tufting button'to .a

loop of tufting cord.

The button embodying my invention isindicated generally at"1,4and 2 indicatesa portion y of a mattress, cushion or other device l with Which thetufting button is used. V The tufting button is attached tothe mattress or cushion by means of a tufting 'cord' 3 which extends through 65 themattress-,andis formed with aloop-portionr 4 with 4which the tufting buttonhas engagement.

1 The tufting button'is ellipsoidal inl shape and both the frontv face 5 and the rear face f6 have a convex curvature. A cross-section through the buttonion theminor'axis (that, is, theaxis ex- 1 rtending. from thefront to the rearjface) Avvill have thev general shape of an ellipseas shown bestin Figs..2- and 4.' Theshape of the vbutton I. when looked'at in the direction ofthe minor-axis 75 will preferably be circular as shown in Al=ig..3. While a button having this shape may be made in'vario us.way s and of any desired materiallgI have shown herein; a buttonwhichis hollow and Which is formed by connectingltogether a.,c or 1 30v cavo-convexfront men'iberf'l and arrconcavo.- convex rear member 8.; The peripheraledge of .the front member `'Iris shovvn.Y as lembracing the'peripheral edge 10 of ther backV memberv E8 and said peripheral edge 9 of the front member 35 is bent around the edge 10 of the rear member thereby locking the ltvvo membersftogether and forming a. hollow ellip'soidal-shaped button.,

i: The Abutton is provided with a cord-receiving passagewll whichV extendsgtherethrough from one side tothe other v.of the convex rear portion of the button. Y l

The rear member 8 of the; button is also provided WithA an entering slot k12V whichl leadsto the cordfreceiving passage 1` and through'vvhich 95 the loo'pA of the tufting cord` is introduced into th'eipassage 11. This slot 12 is an open Vslot and Will preferably lie in a plane substantially at right angles to the rminor axis or parallel to a major axis but is formed entirely in the rearmember 8. The slot is formed at its inner'v end with an offset portion 13 which communicates directlyy vvithgthe cord-receiving passage 11, this offset .portion'serving asa means to lock the loop of tuft in the passage. 1 Y

In attaching thebutton to the loop 4 of tuft- Ying cord the edge 14 ofthe button will be placed tion. The edge 14 of the button adjacent the slot 12 is then inserted into and through the loop 4 of tufting cord as shown in Fig. 5 and during this operation the tension to Which the cord is submitted will naturally draw the loop into the slot 12.

The button is forced through the loop 4 While still in its inverted position until the loop arrives at the inner end of the slot 12 as shown in Fig. 6. The-button is then turned in the direction of the arrow Fig. 6 to place it right side up and during this turning movement the button will turn about the loop 4 of the tufting cord as an axis. As the button assumes its right-side-up position as shown in Fig. 7 the loop of the cord Will be drawn into the cord-receiving passage 1l Where it will be held by the tension to which the cord is subjected.

The button can be readily removed from the tufting cord if desired either by reversing the above operation or by turning the button about the cord as an axis in an anti-clockwise direction `from the position shown in Fig. 7 until the loop of the cord slips out of the slot 12.

The button embodying my invention is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture and the portions thereof which engage the cord are located entirely within the ellipsoidal outline of the button so that said button presents no cord-engaging projections or protuberances.

One advantage resulting from this construction is that the loop 4 of tufting cord to which the button is to be attached is visible to the operator during the entire time that the button is being inserted. This results from the fact that the button is inserted underneath the loop as shown in Fig. 5 so that the loop is on the upper side of the button until it enters the slot. The operative' can then readily observe the operation of entering the loop into the slot. Because of the fact that the slot 12 is an open slot Athe loop 4 of tufting cord can be entered throughl said slot and into the cord-receiving passage without bending-or flexing any portion of the back member ofthe button. The open slot allows the free passage of the loop of tufting cord therethrough and the shape of the slot serves to retain the loop in the cord passage after the button has been placed in position. n

I claim: f

1. A tufting button having a convex rear face free from projecting portions and provided with a cord-receiving passage extending therethrough from one side to the other of said convex rear face, and also having a permanently open entering slot formed in said rear face and leading to said passage. Y

2. A tufting button having a convex rear face and provided with a cord-receiving passage extending therethrough from one sideto the other of said convex rear face, and also having an L-shaped entering slot formed in said rear face and leading to said passage.

3. An upholstery button having an ellipsoidal shape and presenting a smooth rear face free from projecting portions, said button being provided With both a cord-receiving passage extending therethrough from one side to the other of the rear face and an entering slot formed in the rear face and leading to said passage, said slot having an oiset portion at the end which communicates with the passage.

4. A tufting button having an ellipsoidal shape and provided with a cord-receiving passage extending therethrough froin one side to the other of the rear convex face and also having an entering slot situated in a plane nearer the center of the button than said passage, said slot having anoiset portion at its inner end leading to the passage.

5. A `tufting button having an ellipsoidal shape and provided with a cord-receiving passage extending therethrough from one side to theother of the rear `convex face and also having a permanently-open entering slot leading to said' passage and situated in a plane nearer the center of the button than said passage. y

6. A tufting button having a convex rear face free from projecting portions and provided with a cord-receiving passage extending therethrough from .one side to the other of said convex rearV face, said rear face also having a permanentlyopen entering slot formed therein which leads to said passage and which is situated nearer the center of the button than said passage.

. 7. A tufting button having an ellipsoidal shape and formed with a front member and a rear member each of sheet material, the rear member having two cord-receiving openings disposed on opposite sides of its center, and also having an entering slot connecting said openings, the ends of the slot which lead into said openings being offset.

8. A tufting button having a connecting front member and a rear member each made of sheet material, the rear member having a convex 'face and providedA With'ztwo cord-receiving openings disposed on opposite sides of thecenter of the button, and also being provided with an open entering slot connecting said openings.v and through which a loop of tufting' cordV may be entered into said openings Withoutv iexing any portion of the back of thebutton. l

9. A tufting button having a connected front member and a rear member veach made .of sheet material, the rear member having a convex face and provided with two cord-receiving openings disposed on opposite sides of the center of the button, andalso being provided with an open entering slot connecting. saidl openings and through which a loop of tufting cord mayube entered into saidl openings withoutfiexing any portion of the back of the button, theends of the slots which enter said openings being oiset. Y

WILFRED B. MATHEWSON.- 

